Eastern Catholics in the United States: A Look at the Numbers

In Orientalium Ecclesiarum, the 1964 Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches, the fathers of the Second Vatican Council declared:

The Catholic Church holds in high esteem the institutions, liturgical rites, ecclesiastical traditions and the established standards of the Christian life of the Eastern Churches, for in them, distinguished as they are for their venerable antiquity, there remains conspicuous the tradition that has been handed down from the Apostles through the Fathers and that forms part of the divinely revealed and undivided heritage of the universal Church.

In doing so, the council fathers echoed Pope Leo XIII’s praises seven decades earlier in his encyclical letter Orientalium Dignitas. Pope Leo wrote that “the Churches of the East are worthy of the glory and reverence that they hold throughout the whole of Christendom in virtue of those extremely ancient, singular memorials that they have bequeathed to us.” He explained:

For it was in that part of the world that the first actions for the redemption of the human race began, in accord with the all-kind plan of God. They swiftly gave forth their yield: there flowered in first blush the glories of preaching the True Faith to the nations, of martyrdom, and of holiness. They gave us the first joys of the fruits of salvation. From them has come a wondrously grand and powerful flood of benefits upon the other peoples of the world, no matter how far-flung.

The popes of recent decades have continued to manifest their esteem for the Eastern Churches:

• In 1995, Pope St. John Paul II issued Orientale Lumen, an apostolic letter marking the centenary of Orientalium Dignitas; in it, he paid tribute to Eastern Christian liturgy, monasticism, and spirituality.
• The current (1999) edition of the Manual of Indulgences (Latin, English) extended the indulgences associated with the Rosary to any of the faithful, even of the Latin rite, who pray the Akathist or Paraklesis to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Other prayers from the Armenian, Byzantine, Chaldean, Coptic, Ethiopian, Maronite, and Syro-Antiochene traditions were enriched with indulgences (n. 23).
• When Pope Benedict XVI promulgated the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 2005, three Eastern prayers — the Coptic Incense Prayer, the Syro-Maronite Farewell to the Altar, and the Byzantine Prayer for the Deceased — were included in the section entitled “Common Prayers,” alongside more familiar prayers like the Glory Be, the Hail Mary, and the act of contrition.
• In 2014, the Congregation for the Eastern Churches issued pontifical precepts that lifted previous restrictions on the ordination of married men in Eastern Catholic jurisdictions outside of the traditional Eastern territories (pp. 496-99). Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the congregation’s prefect, noted that “at present, all Eastern Catholic Churches can admit married men to the diaconate and priesthood, with the exception of the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Churches.”
• Less than a week after his election in May, Pope Leo XIV showed high esteem for the Eastern Catholic Churches in his address to participants in the Jubilee of the Eastern Churches.

In his 2014 document, Cardinal Sandri recalled that between 1890 and 1930, the Vatican had issued a series of restrictions on the ministry and ordination of married men in areas (such as the United States) outside of traditionally Eastern territories (such as Ukraine). Cardinal Sandri wrote that “deprived of the ministers of their own rite, an estimated 200,000 Ruthenian faithful” became Orthodox.

Eastern Catholicism

The 23 Eastern Catholic Churches are grouped according to five ritual traditions. They may also be classified according to their origins:

• In 431, the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus condemned Nestorianism, after which the Assyrian Church of the East ceased to be in full communion with the Holy See. The Chaldean Catholic Church and the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church arose from the restoration of full communion with some members of the Assyrian tradition and an associated tradition in India.
• In 451, the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon condemned Monophysitism, after which the Oriental Orthodox Churches ceased to be in full communion with the Holy See. The Armenian Catholic Church, Coptic Catholic Church, Eritrean Catholic Church, Ethiopian Catholic Church, Syrian Catholic Church, and Syro-Malankara Catholic Church arose from the restoration of full communion with some members of the Oriental Orthodox tradition.
• With the East-West Schism of 1054, the (Eastern) Orthodox Churches ceased to be in full communion with the Holy See. The Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church, Greek Byzantine Catholic Church, Greek Catholic Churches in former Yugoslavia, Hungarian Greek Catholic Church, Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Romanian Greek Catholic Church, Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, Slovak Greek Catholic Church, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and other Eastern Catholic communities (Albanian, Belarusian, Georgian, and Russian) arose from the restoration of full communion with some members of the Orthodox tradition.
• The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church and Maronite Church have no counterparts among the separated Eastern Churches.

Ten of the Eastern Catholic Churches have a combined 18 eparchies that are headquartered in the United States. According to statistics published in the 2025 edition of The Official Catholic Directory, these 18 jurisdictions have a combined 575,218 Catholics, 793 priests (both diocesan and religious), and 641 parishes.

39% of these 575,218 Eastern Catholics are Chaldean Catholics, 14% are Maronite Catholics, 11% are Ukrainian Greek Catholics, 10% are Syro-Malabar Catholics, and 9% are Armenian Catholics. The rest are Melkite Greek Catholics, Romanian Greek Catholics, Ruthenian Greek Catholics, and Syro-Malankara Catholics.

The 18 eparchies range in size from the Ruthenian Eparchy of Phoenix (2,637 Catholics) to the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle (180,000 Catholics). Four of the eparchies are smaller than the nation’s smallest Latin-rite diocese, the Diocese of Fairbanks, which has 10,218 Catholics.

The median Latin-rite diocese in the United States has one infant baptism per year for every 113 Catholics, one wedding per year for every 453 Catholics, and one diocesan seminarian for every 14,473 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church per year for every 413 Catholics. (Non-infant receptions include the baptisms of non-infant minors, adult baptisms, and receptions into full communion.)

How do the Eastern Catholic eparchies compare, according to statistics published in the Directory?

• In terms of attracting priestly vocations, it’s feast or famine for the 18 Eastern Catholic eparchies. Thirteen attract priestly vocations at a higher rate than that of the typical Latin-rite diocese, with the Eparchy of Phoenix (Ruthenian), Archeparchy of Philadelphia (Ukrainian), and Archeparchy of Pittsburgh (Ruthenian) leading the way. The other five eparchies reported no seminarians.
• Ten of the 18 eparchies have infant baptism rates higher than that of the typical Latin-rite diocese. The Eparchy of Phoenix (Ruthenian), Archeparchy of Philadelphia (Ukrainian), and Eparchy of Stamford (Ukrainian) lead the way.
• Nine of the 18 eparchies attract conversions (and other non-infant receptions) at a rate higher than that of the typical Latin-rite diocese. The Eparchy of Phoenix (Ruthenian), Eparchy of Parma (Ruthenian), and Eparchy of St. George in Canton (Romanian) lead the way. Three eparchies, on the other hand, reported no conversions.
• Fourteen of the 18 eparchies reported wedding rates higher than that of the typical Latin-rite diocese. The Eparchy of Phoenix (Ruthenian), Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance (Syriac), and Archeparchy of Philadelphia (Ukrainian) lead the way.

Armenian Catholic Church

In 1981, Pope St. John Paul II established an apostolic exarchate for Armenian Catholics in the United States and Canada; in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI raised the apostolic exarchate to the dignity of an eparchy. It is one of 18 Armenian Catholic jurisdictions worldwide.

Its first cathedral was in New York; its current cathedral is in Glendale, California. The jurisdiction was renamed the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in 2014.

The eparchy today has 51,000 members in the United States and Canada, with eight parishes, three missions, and 11 priests, according to the Directory. The eparchy reported no seminarians, though it did report one priestly ordination and one ordination to the transitional diaconate in the previous year.

In the previous year, the eparchy had one infant baptism for every 402 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 548 Catholics, and one wedding for every 515 Catholics.

Chaldean Catholic Church

Two of the 23 Chaldean Catholic jurisdictions worldwide are headquartered in the United States.

In 1982, Pope St. John Paul II established an apostolic exarchate for Chaldean Catholics in the United States; in 1985, he raised it to the dignity of an eparchy. This eparchy, the Chaldean Diocese of St. Thomas the Apostle USA, has its cathedral in Southfield, Michigan.

In 2002, St. John Paul divided the eparchy into two, establishing the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle for Chaldean Catholics in the western United States (map). This eparchy’s cathedral is located in El Cajon, California.

With 180,000 Catholics, the Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle is the most populous Eastern Catholic jurisdiction headquartered in the United States. It has 12 parishes, 26 priests, 19 sisters, and 15 seminarians.

The eparchy has one seminarian for every 12,000 Catholics, one infant baptism for every 158 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 9,474 Catholics, and one wedding for every 398 Catholics.

The other Chaldean Catholic eparchy, the Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle, has 46,800 Catholics, 13 parishes, two missions, 29 priests, four seminarians, and seven sisters. It has one seminarian for every 11,700 Catholics, one infant baptism for every 95 Catholics, and one wedding for every 284 Catholics. It reported no non-infant receptions into the Church: that is, no baptisms of non-infant minors, no adult baptisms, and no receptions into full communion. (The eparchy did not respond to a request to provide corrected numbers if these figures were inaccurate.)

Catholic University of America Press recently published an English translation of The Book of Before and After, the Chaldean Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. Fr. Andrew Younan, a priest of the Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle, translated the work and discussed it in an interview with The Pillar.

Maronite Church

Two of the 29 Maronite jurisdictions worldwide are headquartered in the United States.

In 1966, Pope St. Paul VI established an apostolic exarchate for the Maronite faithful in the United States. He raised the apostolic exarchate to the dignity of an eparchy in 1971; this eparchy, the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Detroit, in turn became the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn in 1977, with the cathedral transferred from Detroit to Brooklyn.

In 1994, Pope St. John Paul II split the eparchy in two when he established the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles (map). The eparchy has a cathedral in Los Angeles and a co-cathedral in St. Louis.

The Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn has 26,965 Catholics, 41 parishes, 68 priests (including religious-order priests), 25 permanent deacons, nine religious brothers, and three sisters, according to the Directory. 

The eparchy has one seminarian for every 8,988 Catholics, one infant baptism for every 61 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 341 Catholics, and one wedding for every 250 Catholics.

Asked why Eastern Catholics in his eparchy are more likely to marry in the Church, baptize their children in the Church, and attract conversions than is typical in the American Catholic experience, Bishop Gregory John Mansour told CWR that “we have smaller parishes where the priest is close to the people.”

Asked whether the 2014 disciplinary change permitting the ordination of married men in Eastern Catholic eparchies in the United States has played a part in his eparchy’s success in attracting vocations, he said:

We take time to promote and carefully discern vocations. We have to [have] free celibate seminarians. We have one married deacon who we hope to ordain next summer.

The change from Pope Francis [in 2014] was a big help for us. We have 50 celibate priests and eight married priests.

We do not accept young married men to seek the priesthood. Before a man can be considered for priesthood, he must have been married for over 20 years, have served as subdeacon in his own home parish then as deacon, and his children must be all grown (over 18). In this way we safeguard the generous-hearted men who will embrace celibacy as well as encourage married men to put his wife and children first, solidify these good relationships, serve his home parish and then be ready to serve like all other celibate priests (be transferred when needed, live on a priest salary and live in a rectory).

“Come visit our parishes, pray with us, and come to know our communities,” Bishop Mansour added, when asked what advice he would offer readers who wished to learn more about Maronite Catholic life and spirituality.

The other Maronite eparchy, the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, has 51,592 Catholics, 36 parishes, 67 priests (including 21 religious-order priests), 24 permanent deacons, eight sisters, and 11 seminarians. It has one seminarian for every 4,690 Catholics, one infant baptism for every 99 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 265 Catholics, and one wedding for every 320 Catholics.

Melkite Greek Catholic Church

One of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church’s 26 jurisdictions is headquartered in the United States. Established by Pope St. Paul VI as an apostolic exarchate in 1966 and elevated to an eparchy by him a decade later, the Eparchy of Newton has its cathedral in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, and a co-cathedral in North Hollywood, California.

The Eparchy of Newton has 35,000 Catholics, 52 parishes, 73 priests (including 12 religious priests), 50 permanent deacons, one brother, two sisters, and five seminarians, according to the Directory. It has one seminarian for every 7,000 Catholics, one infant baptism for every 121 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 547 Catholics, and one wedding for every 292 Catholics.

Romanian Greek Catholic Church

The Romanian Greek Catholic Church has seven jurisdictions worldwide, one of them headquartered in the United States. Pope St. John Paul II established an apostolic exarchate for Romanian Catholics in the United States in 1982; he raised the jurisdiction to the dignity of an eparchy in 1987. Pope Francis, in turn, entrusted the Romanian Greek Catholics of Canada to the eparchy in 2013.

The Eparchy of St. George in Canton has its cathedral in Canton, Ohio. It has 5,000 Catholics, 11 parishes, 23 priests (including two religious priests), five permanent deacons, seven brothers, four sisters, and no seminarians. It has one infant baptism for every 208 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 132 Catholics, and one wedding for every 227 Catholics.

Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church

Four of the Ruthenian Catholic Church’s six jurisdictions are headquartered in the United States.

Pope Pius XI established an apostolic exarchate for the nation’s Ruthenian Catholics in 1924. In 1963, Pope St. Paul VI created two eparchies from the apostolic exarchate: the Eparchy of Pittsburgh and the Eparchy of Passaic.

In 1969, St. Paul VI split the Eparchy of Pittsburgh in two, raising the Eparchy of Pittsburgh to the dignity of an archeparchy (and renaming it the Archeparchy of Munhall) and creating the Eparchy of Parma from Pittsburgh’s territory. In 1977, Pope Paul renamed the Munhall archeparchy the Archeparchy in Pittsburgh.

St. John Paul II, in turn, split the Eparchy of Passaic into two in 1981, creating the Eparchy of Van Nuys from Passaic’s territory. In 2009, the Van Nuys eparchy was renamed the Eparchy of Holy Protection of Mary of Phoenix.

There are, then, four current Ruthenian Catholic jurisdictions based in the United States:

The Archeparchy of Pittsburgh has 19,090 Catholics, 72 parishes, 50 priests (including four religious priests), 30 permanent deacons, one brother, 27 sisters, and six seminarians. It has one seminarian for every 3,182 Catholics, one infant baptism for every 285 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 390 Catholics, and one wedding for every 682 Catholics.

The Eparchy of Parma has 3,543 Catholics, 24 parishes, 33 priests (including four religious priests), 13 permanent deacons, eight sisters, and two seminarians. It has one seminarian for every 1,772 Catholics, one infant baptism for every 55 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 79 Catholics, and one wedding for every 273 Catholics.

The Eparchy of Passaic has 8,302 Catholics, 83 parishes, 50 priests (including two religious priests), 27 permanent deacons, 13 sisters, and two seminarians. It has one seminarian for every 4,151 Catholics, one infant baptism for every 76 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 377 Catholics, and one wedding for every 268 Catholics.

The Eparchy of Phoenix has 2,637 Catholics, 19 parishes, 28 priests, 17 permanent deacons, and four seminarians. It has one seminarian for every 659 Catholics, one infant baptism for every 38 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 46 Catholics, and one wedding for every 69 Catholics.

Syriac Catholic Church

The Syriac Catholic Church has 17 jurisdictions worldwide, one headquartered in the United States.

In 1995, Pope St. John Paul II established the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark for Syriac Catholics in the United States and Canada. In 2016, Pope Francis established a separate apostolic exarchate for Syriac Catholics in Canada; in 2021, the American eparchy was renamed the Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance in the United States.

The Eparchy of Our Lady of Deliverance’s cathedral is in Farmington Hills, Michigan; its former cathedral was in Bayonne, New Jersey. The eparchy has 13,076 Catholics, ten parishes, two missions, 11 priests, and no seminarians. It has one infant baptism for every 73 Catholics and one wedding for every 144 Catholics. It reported no non-infant receptions into the Church: that is, no baptisms of non-infant minors, no adult baptisms, and no receptions into full communion. (An eparchial official did not respond to a request to provide corrected numbers if these figures were inaccurate.)

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church has 36 jurisdictions worldwide, one headquartered in the United States.

In 2001, Pope St. John Paul II established the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Chicago for Syro-Malabar Catholics in the United States. Its cathedral is in Chicago.

With 56,784 Catholics, the eparchy is the second-largest of the 18 Eastern Catholic jurisdictions in the United States. It has 50 parishes, 35 missions, 86 priests (including 23 religious priests), ten brothers, an astounding 195 sisters, and ten seminarians. It has one seminarian for every 5,678 Catholics, one infant baptism for every 138 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 291 Catholics, and one wedding for every 213 Catholics.

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church has 12 jurisdictions worldwide, one headquartered in the United States.

In 2010, Pope Benedict established an apostolic exarchate for Syro-Malankara Catholics in the United States; five years later, Pope Francis raised it to the dignity of an eparchy and extended its jurisdiction to Canada.

The St. Mary, Queen of Peace Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy in USA and Canada has its cathedral in Elmont, New York. The eparchy has 11,000 Catholics, 18 parishes, five priests, 28 sisters, and two seminarians, or one seminarian for every 5,500 Catholics. It reported one infant baptism in the previous year for every 186 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 440 Catholics, and one wedding for every 846 Catholics.

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has 37 jurisdictions worldwide, four of them headquartered in the United States.

Pope St. Pius X established an ordinariate for the Ukrainian faithful in the United States in 1913; Pope Pius XI elevated it to an apostolic exarchate in 1924. Pope Venerable Pius XII, in turn, split the apostolic exarchate in two, creating a new Apostolic Exarchate of Stamford in 1956.

In 1958, Pius XII raised the original apostolic exarchate to the dignity of an archeparchy, creating the Archeparchy of Philadelphia. St. John Paul II split the archeparchy in two in 1983, creating the St. Josaphat Eparchy.

In 1958, Pius XII also raised the Apostolic Exarchate of Stamford to the dignity of an eparchy, creating the Diocese of Stamford. Three years later, Pope St. John XXIII established the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy.

With its cathedral in Philadelphia, the Archeparchy of Philadelphia (map) has 11,646 Catholics, 62 parishes, 50 priests, two permanent deacons, 43 sisters, and three seminarians, or one for every 3,882 Catholics. It reported one infant baptism in the previous year for every 41 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 776 Catholics, and one wedding for every 169 Catholics.

The archeparchy’s infant baptism and wedding rates are nearly triple that of the typical Latin-rite diocese in the United States. Mitered Archpriest Peter D. Waslo, the archeparchy’s protosyncellus and chancellor, told CWR that “in an ironic way, we feel we have low numbers for weddings and baptisms.”

“For the second year in a row, baptisms have outnumbered deaths,” he said. “But the population is still decreasing. I would attribute those who seek baptism and weddings to be those who are recent immigrants and remain in the Church because of its familiarity. The more Americanized members seem to have left our Church, although there are some who have remained.”

The archeparchy attracts seminarians at a rate nearly quadruple that of the typical American diocese. Msgr. Waslo commented:

Again, we feel we have low numbers of vocations. Even though we ordain married men, no one is busting through the doors to enter the seminary. It comes down to where it is a lack of faith rather than vocations.

These past two years we have passed the threshold of having more married priests than celibate priests. Presently, we have three seminarians and so far, they have opted for celibacy. The last three priests and transitional deacon ordained have been married. There are also three candidates for the permanent diaconate who are married.

Two men we are working with have completed seminary studies, are married, but presently work in secular jobs. We are negotiating with them to see if they are willing to be ordained, but it is a struggle to convince men to serve.

“If anyone wants to learn more of our spirituality, there are many books and even videos and podcasts that explain the Faith,” he added. “A really good source is our catechism, Christ – Our Pascha.”

With its cathedral in Stamford, Connecticut, the Eparchy of Stamford (map) has 16,833 Catholics, 51 parishes, 72 priests, three brothers, 31 sisters, and seven seminarians, or one per 2,405 Catholics. It reported one infant baptism in the previous year for every 53 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 1,870 Catholics, and one wedding for every 324 Catholics.

Like one of the Ruthenian eparchies, the St. Josaphat Eparchy (map) has its cathedral in Parma, a suburb of Cleveland. The eparchy has 10,950 Catholics, 38 parishes, nine missions, 50 priests, 21 permanent deacons, two brothers, two sisters, and no seminarians, according to the Directory. It reported one infant baptism in the previous year for every 74 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church for every 322 Catholics, and one wedding for every 391 Catholics.

The St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy (map) has its cathedral in Chicago. According to the Directory, the eparchy has 25,000 Catholics — up from 15,000 in the 2024 edition — 41 parishes, 61 priests, 12 permanent deacons, and ten brothers. It reported one infant baptism in the previous year for every 167 Catholics and one wedding for every 714 Catholics; at the same time, it reported no seminarians, no adult baptisms, no baptisms of non-infant minors, and no receptions into full communion.

Commenting on the statistics in the 2025 edition of the Directory, Very Rev. Richard Janowicz, the eparchy’s protosyncellus, said that “it seems that some information was not forwarded to the Directory. I alone had two adult baptisms in my small parish and three received into the Church.”

“No way did we gain 10,000 people in one year,” he added, commenting on the reported rise in the eparchy’s population from 15,000 in the 2024 edition to 25,000 in the new edition. “I think the 15,000 is much closer to the truth.”

In a follow-up email, Fr. Janowicz said that the eparchial official who submitted data to the Directory admitted that “mistakes were made in sending in the report.”

Asked what advice he would offer readers who wished to learn more about Ukrainian Greek Catholic life and spirituality, Fr. Janowicz echoed Msgr. Waslo’s advice to read Christ – Our Pascha. Fr. Janowicz added:

There are many resources online that can inform people about our Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Many of our parishes in the USA have information on their websites, as does my parish. The news website for the entire Church can be found here. The Edmonton Eparchy has a great online library. Of course attending services at our parishes is probably the best way to understand who we are.

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